Getting Started with Sway

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New to Microsoft Sway? This article provides an overview of how easy it is to create and share anything with Sway’s colorful and interactive canvas. Learn how to create and preview your first Sway, how to add and embed content, and how to share your finished creation with others.

What is Sway?

Video: Use Sway to reimagine how your ideas come to life

Sway is a new app from Microsoft Office that makes it easy to create and share interactive reports, personal stories, presentations, and more.

Start by adding your own text and pictures, search for and import relevant content from other sources, and then watch Sway do the rest. With Sway, you’re no longer limited to picking a pre-designed template that makes your presentations look like everyone else’s, and you don’t have to have any design skills to transform and showcase information in modern, interactive, and attention-getting ways.

With Sway, there’s no need to spend lots of time on formatting. Its built-in design engine takes care of making your creation look its best. If the initial design doesn’t quite match your taste or mood, you can easily apply another — or fully customize your layout to make it your own.

It’s super easy to share your finished Sways. Family, friends, classmates, and coworkers can see your creations on the Web without signing up, signing in, or downloading anything. And you can change the privacy settings for any Sway whenever you want more control over what you share.

Sway is free to use for anyone with a Microsoft Account (Hotmail, Live, or Outlook.com). You can create more sophisticated Sways with more content when you use Sway as part of an Office 365 subscription. For more information, see Add more content to your Sways with Office 365.

What can I create with Sway?

Whether it’s a report, a presentation, a newsletter, a personal story, a photo album, or a visual trip report, there’s virtually no limit on what you can express creatively with Sway.

Reports

Presentations

Newsletters

Stories

If you’re not sure what’s possible, you can get inspiration by viewing and interacting with Sways that other people have created. After you’ve signed in to Sway (see below), scroll down to the bottom of the My Sways page, and then browse through the featured content under the heading “Get inspired by a featured Sway.” You can also choose to start with one of the featured templates to begin using and learning Sway.

Sign in to start creating

To get started with Sway, visit sway.office.com in any browser and then click Sign in on the top menu bar.

When prompted, enter the email address you want to use with Sway. You can use your free Microsoft Account (Hotmail, Outlook.com) or any organizational account given to you by your work or school. If you don’t already have an account, visit www.microsoft.com/account to sign up for free.

On the My Sways page that opens after you’ve signed in, click or tap Create New to start creating your first Sway.

Get to know the Sway Storyline

The Storyline is where you type, insert, edit, and format the content that tells your story. Content is arranged in sequential order by adding cards, each of which holds the type of content you want — such as text, images, videos, and even Office documents. The order of cards can be rearranged at any time to suit your needs.

Give your Sway a title

Click the Title your Sway placeholder text shown in the first card on the Storyline, and then type a short but meaningful description of what your Sway is all about. When you later share your finished Sway, this title will be the first thing that others will see.

Add images and text to your Sway

To add content to your Sway, such as text, images, or videos, click or tap the + icon at the bottom of any existing card. You can also drag and drop text and images right onto your Storyline. (Don’t hesitate to experiment — you can change the order of your content at any time and customize each card the way you want.)

Add content to your Sway

You can easily search for and add additional content to your Sway, such as an image that is stored on your computer or mobile device. Sway can also search the Web for the most relevant content, such as videos, and add it to your Sway. On the menu bar, click Insert, select your preferred content source from the menu, and then enter any search keyword or phrase into the Search sources box.

Preview your Sway

You can preview your work in progress at any time by clicking the Design tab. When you preview your Sway, you can see how it will appear to others when you later decide to share it. To fully experience your Sway, click the Play button on the top menu bar.

Change the style of your Sway

Sway lets you focus on what you’re trying to communicate by taking care of the formatting, design, and layout of your content. You can keep Sway’s suggested default design, select and apply your own, and even customize the layout.

To choose a style for your Sway, click Design on the menu bar, and then select Styles. To choose a random look and mood for your Sway at any time, click the Remix! button until you find a design and layout you like. You can also adjust a specific part of the currently applied style, such as color, font, and textures, by clicking the Customize button in the Styles pane.

If you want to control how others will view and navigate your Sway once you’ve shared it, select whether your content should scroll vertically, horizontally, or appear like a presentation.

Share your Sway

Ready to share your Sway with the world — or perhaps just with selected people? Click the Share button on the top menu bar and then select how you want to share your Sway. Your choices on this menu depend on the type of account that you used to sign in to Sway.

For a more detailed look at all available sharing options, see Share your Sway.

Go mobile with Sway

Sway works in all modern mobile browsers, regardless of platform. Whether you’re taking the sightseeing trip of a lifetime, documenting research for school, or taking part in an important business conference, Sway is always just a tap away.

Sway.office.com
Visit sway.office.com in any mobile browser, no matter what the platform or device.

Discover Accessibility features in Sway

The browser that is used to author and view a Sway determines the Accessibility features that are available. For best results, we recommend Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari.

You can use Sway in a high-contrast mode with full keyboard functionality and screen reader access to your content. Click More Options ( . . . ) on the top menu bar, and then click or tap Accessibility view. To quit Accessibility view, use the same command again.

For more information about Sway Accessibility, please read the following:

Send us your feedback
Got an idea for a new feature or a suggestion for improvement? Visit the Sway UserVoice site to share your thoughts with the product team. You can also vote on the best ideas already submitted by other Sway users.